What We’re About

Legacy. Honor. Dignity. Grit.

The Farm Crew is as old as the College itself – cultivating student leaders, strong work ethics, and the Swannanoa Valley since 1894. National leaders in sustainable agriculture, the Farm Crew manages over 275 rotationally grazed, crop rotated, hillside-to-bottomland, agroecological acres, $240,000 of naturally-raised meats, 65 brood cows, 20 brood sows, 750 broilers, 300 laying hens, 20 ewes, and 1 lovable guard donkey, Lola.

Broken into five sub-crews – General, Cattle and Sheep, Pig, Poultry, and Marketing/Business – the experiences on the Farm Crew are as diverse as they are deep. Whether you’re a future vet, farm manager, agronomist, extension agent, resilient agriculture lobbyist, lawyer, or advocate (or assistant director of admission), the Farm Crew is the perfect incubator.

我喜欢在Farm Crew的一件事就是每个学生对工作的热情和能量。每个人都很兴奋地承担项目并找出正确的方法，这培养了一个宝贵的学习环境。这项工作从不平凡:我们每天面临的难题给我们的生活带来了必要的和真正的挑战。在我看来，没有比努力全面地、有弹性地种植粮食更好的方式来连接自己的地方。所有的工人，不论性别、年龄、财富、经验和背景，都被赋予在农场的代理权，这给了他们力量、信心和动力。

Georgia Ackerman

Working on the farm has taught me how much of a difference it makes when you really love the work that you are doing. Not working just to meet required hours or to earn pay but because you believe in what you’re doing. Taking pride in every project because the thought of contributing to the bigger picture is such an empowering image.

Thomas Smythe

Supervisor Spotlight

Farm Manager, Blair Thompson

Learning Outcomes

You’ll spend years working alongside your peers and mentored by supervisors. Part of the experience of work at Warren Wilson is guided critical reflection, which helps ensure that you achieve both your own educational goals as well as our Common Learning Outcomes. These intentional learning outcomes distinguish our work program, giving it focus and relevancy that set it apart from federal work study or your average part-time job. Specifically, our Common Learning Outcomes are:

• Dependability:reliability, accountability, and the ability to successfully manage your time
• Integrity:trustworthiness and respect for transparent honesty
• Initiative:self-control, the ability to evaluate situations, and motivation to carry out responsibilities
• Analytical Thinking:working with available resources to creatively address issues and solve problems
• Communication:the ability to convey information effectively and build community with others
• Collaboration:collaborate with peers to achieve common goals
• Appreciation of the Value of All Work:an understanding of your place in the working world, and a respect for the dignity of all work

Learning and Performance Goals

In addition to our Common Learning Outcomes, each crew in the Work Program identifies crew-specific goals for learning and performance. These are reviewed with you each semester. The Learning and Performance Goals outline skills and abilities the supervisor will teach during the semester.

Some of the many learning opportunities on the Farm Crew include:

• Caring for, feeding, and moving roughly 65 brood cows, 20 brood sows, 750 broilers, 300 laying hens
• Planting and harvesting corn, barley , and hay crops
• Fence repair
• Renovating and restoring farm buildings
• Maintenance of the farm’s tractors and equipment
• Marketing approximately $240,000 worth of naturally-raised meats and other products sold locally each year
• Mastery of current sustainable agriculture techniques
• Crop and pasture management, on-farm experimentation,
• Local farm visits, and participation at agriculture conferences
• Veterinary experience: delivering animals, giving shots, diagnosing and solving health problems, and administering medicine.